As society becomes more mobile, concerns about personal effect security have increased. In particular, theft of portable electronic devices such as notebook computers, portable digital assistants (PDAs), video camcorders and digital cameras is a growing concern for the users and owners of these articles. Small valuable articles such as portable electronics devices have increased intrinsic value due to the information stored in them.
Due to their small size, portable electronics get stolen. For example, in 1999 approximately 416,000 notebooks were stolen in the U.S. alone—90% are not retrieved (Targus Group Intl ‘2001’). A simple anti-theft device in common use is a cable lock. Undoubtedly, the inconveniences associated with having to carry the cable lock, as well as restrictions on mobility of the portable electronic, require a more sophisticated, smaller and convenient anti-theft mechanism.
Existing anti-theft systems such as the Targus Defcon 1 manufactured by the Targus Group Intl, as well as inventions in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 3-225597, U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,270 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,304 are devices which are large in comparison to the portable electronic. With respect to the Targus Defcon 1, the dimensions are approximately one-fifth of the size of a 12.1″ screen notebook computer and the approximate dimensions of a PDA or digital camera. The necessity of having to carry an external device in addition to the portable electronic with current devices places limitations on user mobility. The utility of existing anti-theft systems is further limited to a comparatively large portable electronic device such as a laptop computer, and impractical to couple with a small device such as a PDA, camcorder or smaller personal articles such as jewelry or watches.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,133,830 is exemplary of these devices and has an anti-theft system that relies on the interaction of the owner/user with the portable electronic. The anti-theft system includes a control unit and a theft detector, with the theft detector attached to a portable electronic device. Upon the detection of motion, the user is notified via a signal to the control unit in the possession of a remote user. The user then determines whether to trigger the alarm. As with other existing systems, the size of the theft detector restricts the mobility of the user. Thus, there exists a need for a security system that is small enough to integrate into, or attach to any portable electronic device or personal article without hindering the mobility of the user thereof.